“Cat, thank you.” Alison was visibly shaken.
Alison put her hand on Catrina’s knee. Catrina was startled as a flash of electricity shot up her leg. She looked into Alison’s eyes and saw desire.
This wasn’t good. This was business. Never mix business with pleasure.
Alison moved her head ever so slightly towards Catrina. Catrina gulped. Alison parted her lips and moved closer.
Catrina hesitated. Alison touched her lips softly. Catrina felt Alison’s hand move up her thigh. Electricity crackled from Alison’s fingers to her skin.
“No.” Catrina pulled back. “I’m flattered,” she said softly, “but I’m not attracted to women that way.”
Chapter 25
The DVD came in a FedEx envelope like the other. Abeba determined that they had been shipped from a FedEx store downtown. Paid for with cash. The sender, “John Smith,” could be anybody. The clerks didn’t remember who sent them. They handled hundreds of these envelopes a day.
Ted popped the DVD into his lap top. It didn’t contain another grainy surveillance video. This one was high-definition color. With sound. Whoever took this video wanted to keep a record of every word said.
The angle was different too. This video didn’t look down from the ceiling, it was shot at the same height as Metcalf’s desk. A hidden camera maybe?
So who was sending these to Ted? Why wouldn’t they reveal themselves?
On Ted’s monitor, Jack Metcalf paced back and forth behind his desk, cell phone to his ear.
“You’re sure she’s spying on us?” Metcalf said.
There was a pause while he listened for the person on the other end of the phone to answer.
“Well, what do we do about it? We can’t let her just waltz out of here with that information.”
“Cat,” Ted popped the DVD from his laptop and ran towards Catrina’s office. “You’ve gotta see this.”
Catrina sat, head down, at her battered old desk. “What is it?” Her voice was soft and low. She still treated Ted like he was diseased, even though he’d made a few brownie points at the extraction.
“A DVD from ‘Deep Throat.” Ted held up the shiny disk. “You’ve gotta see this one. I think it cracks the case wide open.” Ted reached over Catrina and slid the DVD into her computer. He was so excited he didn’t even notice the close contact with his boss. “I haven’t seen the whole thing yet, but I think it may be incriminating.”
Ted ran the DVD and they watched together.
“Who’s he talking to?” Catrina asked.
“Don’t know.”
“Do we know who she’s working for?” Metcalf was talking again. “As if I have to ask. Of course she’s working for that bitch.”
There was another pause while Metcalf listened. The speed of his pacing increased.
“What’s our worst case scenario? What happens if Clarke gets that information?”
Again a pause. Again more pacing.
“Damn it.” Metcalf slammed his hand down on his desk.
Both Ted and Catrina jumped.
“We can’t let that happen. We’re too close here. I want her stopped. Do what you have to do. Stop her.”
This time Metcalf’s pacing stopped. He froze while he listened to the other person.
“Yes, I know what that means. Keep her quiet for at least three weeks. After that, I don’t care what you do with her. Just make sure that she doesn’t know who’s holding her.”
Metcalf resumed his pacing.
“I know that this doesn’t fit your normal job description.”
Metcalf listened.
“How much more?”
Pause.
“That’s ridiculous. Okay, here’s my deal. You know I won’t negotiate. Half a million. That’s it. Take care of this for me. We’re both in this together. When Clarke’s gone and I get my company back, there’ll be a CEO position open. Keep me happy. I’ll take care of you.”
Metcalf flipped his phone shut without waiting for an answer. He turned his back to the camera and stared into space. Then the picture on Catrina’s screen disappeared.
“We need to find out who he was talking to.” Catrina was the first to react.
“There’s gotta be a time stamp on the .wav file. I can figure out when he was talking.”
“That’s a start.” Catrina pushed back from her desk. “If we know when he was talking and know his cell phone number, we can trace the number he was calling. Right?”
“It depends on the cell company. Different companies have different systems.”
“I’ll work on getting his cell number and the carrier. You work on the time stamp.” Catrina stood up. “Abeba, can you come in here?”
****
“Bear, it’s Ted Higuera.” Ted spoke into his desk phone.
“Higgy?”
“Yeah, Higgy. Listen, I need a favor.” Ted held his breath. He had a good relationship with Bear while he worked at YTS, but he hadn’t been there long. Would Bear hold his leaving against him?
“So, how’s saving the world going?” There was a sarcastic tone in Bear’s voice. “I haven’t noticed anything different yet.”
“We’re working on a couple of things. By next week, Ol’ Ted’s gonna cure world hunger.” Would a little humor soften him up?
“Whatcha need, Higgy? I’m a little busy here. You know, just making filthy old lucre.”
“You used to work for Pacific Wireless, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“I need to get some information from them. I have a cell phone number. I need to know who they were calling at a certain time.”
“Bingo. Higgy, you hit the jackpot. I wrote that system. I can tell you how to get in.”
Ted knew that Bear would have left a backdoor in any system he worked on. A way to get around the security protocols if he had to get in and make an emergency fix. This, Ted thought, constitutes an emergency.
****
“I’ve got good news and bad news.” Ted stood in the door to Catrina’s office. “I can get into Pacific Wireless’ system. I found the call Metcalf made.”
“That’s great.” Catrina put down the photos she was looking at.
“Not so much. Metcalf was calling a pre-paid cell phone. There’s no way to trace it.”
“Shit.” The expectant look dropped from Catrina’s face. She picked up the photo off of her desk. “I’ve been thinking about Deep Throat.”
“Yeah.”
“Who would have access to Metcalf’s personal information?”
Ted thought a moment. “His secretary I guess. Maybe his accountant or his attorney.”
“Yes.” Catrina stared hard at Ted.
What’s she getting at? “I don’t know who else. These are security tapes, at least the first one. Who has access to security tapes?”
“Back up, bucko. You said it a minute ago.”
“What?” Ted scratched his head. “His secretary? His lawyer?”
“You’ve got it. Who’s his lawyer?”
“Harry? Chris’ dad.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And Chris is a paralegal on his case. . .”
Of course. Chris would have access to Metcalf’s personal files. “No way. Chris is a straight arrow. He won’t even talk to me about the case. There’s no way he’d leak information on a client. Attorney-client privilege.”
Catrina leaned back in her chair and put her feet on her desk. “You said it yourself. He’s a straight arrow. What if he knows who killed Donna, but can’t say anything because of attorney-client privilege? What would he do?”
“Chris would never violate privilege, but he couldn’t sit on that kind of information.” Ted couldn’t sit still. He had to get up and pace. “He’d have to do something.”
“Maybe he didn’t violate attorney-client privilege at all.” Catrina locked her hands behind her head. “Maybe he’s just a really lousy paralegal.”
There was a long pause as Ted digested what Catrina had just said. “Or
maybe this is a case where ethics rise above the law.”
****
“Mrs. Flaherty, you better get out here.” Abeba screeched.
Ted looked up to see a small, dark, elegantly dressed man with a bushy mustache, backed by three Seattle Police Department officers pushing their way past the receptionist.
“Hold on there.” Ted jumped up from his desk. “What do you want?”
“You Higuera?” The short man in the gray suit had a menacing look beneath his short cut salt and pepper hair.
“Yeah.” What was going on?
“Cuff him.” The man pushed past Ted.
“What the hell’s going on here?” Catrina emerged from her office. “Petrocelli, what do you want?”
The man called Petrocelli was several inches shorter than Catrina and terribly fit. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on him. The smile on his face looked more like a grimace of pain. He reached in his jacket pocket and produced some folded papers. “Catrina Flaherty, I have a warrant for your arrest. And Eduardo Higuera and Jonathon Jefferson too.” He was taking way too much pleasure in this.
Mierda, what’s this all about?
“On what charges?” Catrina held her ground.
“Let’s start with impersonating an officer of the law. Then we have computer trespass in the first degree. Then we have my favorite. This is my first chance to prosecute scum for pretexting.”
“Petrocelli, you’re out of your mind.” Catrina didn’t flinch. “You don’t have a shred of evidence.”
“Cuff ‘em boys.” The evil grin grew even larger. “Flaherty, you don’t know how many nights I’ve lain awake dreaming of this.”
“Stuff it, Petrocelli. I know what you lay awake dreaming about, and it involves handcuffs all right.”
The two police officers stepped forward and spun Ted around. One of them pulled his hands behind his back while the other applied the handcuffs. They were no less gentle with Catrina. Good thing Jeff was out of the office.
“You have the right to remain silent,” the first officer said. He then recited the Miranda Warning.
Once cuffed, the cops grabbed their arms and drug them towards the door.
“Abeba, call Jennifer.” Catrina shouted over her shoulder. “Have her meet us at the court house. Call Jeff. Ted, don’t say a word until she arrives.”
Ted was shoved down the long, treacherous flight of stairs and out into the rainy afternoon. He wasn’t given a chance to put on a jacket and was freezing by the time he was unceremoniously shoved into the patrol car.
Caramba, what’s Mama going to say? Ted had never been in trouble in his life. Growing up in East LA, he had seen his friends hauled away by the cops many times, but never thought it would happen to him. He needed to talk to Cat, to find out what he should do. To figure out what was going on.
Catrina was in a different patrol car. He had to stop and think. He forced himself to steady his breath. His heartbeat ran wild.
Okay, Cat can handle this. She must have a lawyer. Do I trust her lawyer or do I call Chris? Chris’ dad would be able to get him out.
But could he even call Harry? Harry was working for Metcalf. That DA dude said that they were being arrested for computer trespass and pretexting, fancy legal terms for hacking. He had hacked into MS’ systems to get the goods on Metcalf. Would that be a conflict of interest for Harry?
The cop driving didn’t say a word during the trip down town. He pulled the patrol car into the parking garage under the Public Safety Building and drug Ted out the door. The elevator whooshed them upstairs to a holding cell.
The silent cop removed the handcuffs and shoved Ted into a cell with three decidedly unfriendly types.
“¿Para cuál está adentro?” The small, dark youth with a scar across his cheek seemed to be the ring leader. He wanted to know what Ted was in for.
“Para cortar.” Ted didn’t really know how to say “hacking” in Spanish. This was as close as he could come.
“What, you give someone a bad haircut, dude?” Scar face obviously spoke English too.
“No, man. Hacking. I don’t know how to say hacking in Spanish.” Ted’s revelation didn’t appear to increase his stature among his fellow criminals.
“Hacking? What kind of sissy-assed crime is that?” Scar face shoved Ted’s shoulder. The other two jail birds laughed at his joke. “What, you steal someone’s credit card numbers, Nancy?”
This wasn’t going well. He should have told them he was in for an axe murder.
“Higuera, we’ll talk to you now.” A put out looking detective in a Wal-Mart suit opened the cell door. “C’mon. I haven’t got all day.”
Ted stepped out into the squad room. It looked pretty much like every cop show on TV. Rows of desks, most littered with coffee cups, stacks of paper, take out containers and pizza boxes. Men and women who looked bored out of their minds sat at the desks, some talking on the telephone, some talking with people at their desks.
“This way.” The badly-dressed detective led Ted to an interrogation room.
Also, just like he’d seen on TV. The room was barren except for a table and three chairs. The chair they put Ted in was bolted to the floor. A large mirror-covered one wall.
Two-way mirror, Ted thought. I wonder who’s on the other side.
“OK, Higuera, I’m gonna make this simple for you. We’ve got you on three counts of computer trespass in the first degree. Your boss and her little black buddy are going a way for a long time. We’ve got them on impersonating an officer of the law and pretexting. You can do yourself a favor here.”
The bad suit paused, letting his words sink in. Ted wasn’t about to react.
“You help us out and I think I can get the DA to lower the charges to second-degree computer trespass. That’s only a misdemeanor. You could get away with a slap on the wrist.”
Sweat ran into Ted’s eyes. His palms were moist. “Hey, dude. I was just doin’ my job.”
“That’s what the guards at Auschwitz said.” The detective crumpled the paper cup in his hands. “They were good Nazi’s, just doin’ their jobs.” He tossed the cup into the trash can, then looked at Ted for a long moment. “Is that what you are? You a good Nazi?”
Ted sat silent. He didn’t trust cops. In the ‘hood where he grew up, you didn’t talk to the law.
“I want a lawyer.”
“I’d think twice about that if I were you, kid. You get a lawyer in here, the deals off the table. You got one chance and you got exactly thirty seconds to make up your mind. I call a lawyer and you go down for a felony.”
I can’t trust this guy. “Where’s my boss? I want to talk to Catrina.”
“Next time you see that bitch is gonna be in a court room. We got her nailed. She’s gonna be spendin’ the next five years as the state’s guest in Gig Harbor.”
Ted shut up. He sat stoned faced while his mind raced a million miles an hour. Was Cat really that stupid? Had she crossed the line? She never took the law too seriously. He knew that Cat and Jeff pushed the limits. She often said that they did what the police couldn’t. Had she gone too far this time? Had she pissed off the wrong people?
“Cat got your tongue?” The burly detective got up. “Last chance kid. Look, I’m tryin’ to help ya here. How’s your mama gonna feel, having to come visit you on Sundays in the pen? Do yourself a favor.”
“Don’t say a word.” The door burst open. A slender woman with short brown hair and blazing eyes charged into the room. “Jennifer Trask.” She thrust a business card at the startled detective. “I’m Mr. Higuera’s attorney. Ted, don’t say a word to this guy.”
The cavalry had arrived. Ted had never met Cat’s lawyer, but he’d heard about her. She might be a predatory divorce lawyer and a fierce advocate for woman’s rights, but could she get Ted off on a criminal charge?
****
“What the fuck?” It was all Ted could do to hold back the explosion until they exited the Public Safety Building into a dreary, gray Seattle
day. “Cat, what’s goin’ on?”
Jenifer posted bail, but they still had the charges hanging over their heads. Ted, Catrina and Jennifer stood on the corner of Fourth and James, unable to decide what direction to go. Ted and Catrina had been unceremoniously arrested without even being allowed to get a coat. The breeze blowing up through the concrete canyons from the bay cut through them like a knife.
“I have my car in a lot,” Jennifer said. “It’s only a couple of blocks.”
“We’ll get a cab back to the office.” Catrina glanced up Fourth looking for a taxi.
“Cat, talk to me.” Ted couldn’t contain himself. “What’s going on here?”
Ted stared at his boss. Her short blonde hair was matted to her skull.
“Petrocelli.” Cat slowly started walking. “He’s a friend of my ex. No, he’s a real bud. He’s got a man-crush on Mike.
“He was the lead attorney on the sexual harassment suit. Jennifer beat him badly in court. He’d give anything to give Jenn and me a black eye.”
“BLACK EYE! Cat, we’re talking felony here. That fat cop said I could get five years.”
“Ted.” Jennifer put her hand on Ted’s bicep. “Don’t worry about it. He doesn’t have enough evidence. We’ve got conflicting complaining parties. Metcalf made the complaint, but Alison Clarke gave you permission. This won’t hold up in court.”
“What do I tell my parents? I’ve never been in trouble. How do I explain to my mom that I’ve been arrested?”
Several cabs passed by. Catrina made no effort to hail them.
“Ted,” Catrina wiped the water out of Ted’s eyes and brushed back his unruly lock of hair. “This will all blow over. Jenn can handle it. When we nail Metcalf, Petrocelli will have to drop the charges.”
“What if we don’t nail Metcalf? What about the impersonating an officer of the law? I didn’t do that, but you and Jeff did. You’re in deep shit.”
“They’ve been there before.” Jennifer pulled a small umbrella out of her bag. “It’s all part of the game. They pile on the charges to up the ante. They want to put pressure on us. Force someone to crack and make a deal.”
“That someone is you,” Catrina said. “They see you as the weak link. They’ll offer you a sweetheart deal to get to Jeff and me.” She stared into his eyes for the longest minute.
Hacker For Hire (Ted Higuera Series Book 2) Page 22